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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23740339">2nd Chance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin_Soul94/pseuds/Slytherin_Soul94'>Slytherin_Soul94</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Howard Stark Lives, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Good Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, No Obadiah Stane, No Peggy Carter, Omega Tony Stark, Protective Steve Rogers, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Triggers, alpha howard stark, god that man was a creep</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:28:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,976</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23740339</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin_Soul94/pseuds/Slytherin_Soul94</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I always read stories about Howard Stark and how bad of a father he was and as it relates to my own life, I wanted to give Howard a chance to redeem himself. So on that note, what happens when Howard goes just a little too far and Tony's had enough? Can Tony and Howard rebuild what they once had or is it too late?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bruce Banner/James "Bucky" Barnes, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Howard Stark/Maria Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, and a few others</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>2nd Chance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>******In case you missed the tags and the summary, this story does involve several types of abuse and features a suicide attempt. I have marked the start and the end of the scene involving the suicide attempt with asterisks and have labeled it.(Beginning and END).</p><p> Please, I ask that you to reach out and speak to someone, hell you can even send me a message if you find yourself having feeling sad and lonely or even feel like hurting yourself. Remember that you aren't in this alone and it will as it always does, get better.********</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Dad look, I made it out o-” Tony was cut off by Howard slamming his hand down on the table effectively shutting his son up, making Tony flinch back in fear. Almost every minute of the day, Tony was tinkering with something. He would always go around the house and try to find old items to make something out of, he was a genius that way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Howard and Maria had recognized Tony’s advanced intelligence early on. They knew something was up when Tony began forming words, before he could even crawl properly. Although he was a little apprehensive at first, Howard began taking Tony with him to the lab. He would set Tony up beside him and let the young omega watch his father work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Howard could understand everything when the young Stark would use his fingers to point out missing pieces of a would be invention or plant himself over an open blueprint and just stare in what Howard took as deep thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But those days seemed to be long gone as Tony could barely get his father to acknowledge him now days, and when he did, it was always a reprimand being given on Howard’s end. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maria’s death hit both Howard and Tony hard, with Howard turning to alcohol to numb his pain. The night that Maria died, Howard went through two bottles of bourbon. After that night, it was almost as if a switch was flipped and his entire personality changed for the worse in regards to his son. In public, he was Howard Stark, the doting alpha father to his precious omega son. But in private, he became mean, ruthless and verbally abusive. Deep down, he knew what he was doing was wrong and that he needed to get help for himself and more importantly for his son who he’s surely scarred mentally. But he just couldn’t do it. Everytime he looked at Tony, he saw Maria, and his alcohol raddled mind, somehow convinced him that Tony was the reason for Maria’s breast cancer, when in reality that was clearly false. He blamed his own son for his wife dying, Howard knew it was wrong but he needed an outlet to release his anger, and for him, Tony was that outlet, </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Tony what the hell have I told you about touching my things, huh?”  Howard asked his son as his eyes scanned over Tony’s newest project. From what he could see it was some sort of robot, if he was sobered up, he would have realized how impressive the feat was especially with the parts that it seemed like Tony used.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Howard leant forward as Tony said something too low for him to hear in response. “What the hell did you just say?” Howard said as his speech spurred a little, at this point, he had had one too many glasses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You told me to stop touching your things because a lab is no place for an omega, yet alone a good for nothing ingrate like me” Tony recited the line as if it had been hammered into his brain. And it was truly a sad sight to see for many of the staff that worked in the Stark Mansion. They witnessed what Tony went through every day as he would go to his room with tears rolling down his cheeks and cry himself to sleep. Or when he would sit at the dining room table and be virtually ignored by his father as the two sat on completely opposite sides of the table and ate in silence. They stood by and watched with sadness in their hearts as they knew that there was nothing for them to do. They all had soft spots in their hearts for Tony and did their best to treat the young omega with care and love whenever they were around him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Tony replied to his father with tears in his eyes as he watched as Howard snatched his latest experiment out of his hands and slammed it on the floor, breaking it into a million pieces. It took Tony three days to build that robot and just like that in the span of 15 seconds, it was destroyed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Exactly, but instead, you insist on doing. Go to your room and don’t come out until I say so.” Howard said as he took another sip of his bourbon and waited for his son to leave his sights. “NOW” the man yelled when he saw Tony wasn’t moving fast enough for his liking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Running out of the room, Tony ran up to his bedroom and jumped on his bed as the tears began to fall freely. He reached out a hand and grabbed a hold of Arthur, his stuffed rabbit that seemed to be his only friend in the world as he began rocking himself back and forth as the tears just continued to come.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Back in the sitting room, a few of the maids watched f as the man once again treated his son like trash, and for what reason?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few of the maids thought that it was because Tony was an omega. Gender discrimination, was completely looked down upon in society. Hell, some of the top businessmen and women were Omegas and Betas. Little did they know, Howard had no problem with Tony being omega, the problem was that when he was drunk, he mouth said things that his brain didn’t approve of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Omegas were seen as a gift from god himself. They were highly skilled in many different areas and while they made great nurturers, they also made great leaders as well. Which is why many so many presidents have been in fact, omegas. Howard knew that, and if the man had received proper grief counseling for himself after Maria’s death, then the discussion of him being a hater of his son’s status wouldn’t even be a question. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finishing his drink, Howard got up from the chair that he had been in and began making his way up the staircase and down the hall to his room. Walking past Tony’s room, he paused for a moment as he leant against the door and heard the tell tale signs of his son crying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Useless brat” Howard said drunkily as he stumbled the rest of the way to his room. Almost every night, Howard would get too drunk to handle and yell at Tony. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why doesn’t he love me Artie?” Tony cried into his stuffed rabbit as he laid down on his side and stared out the window at the golden orb that basked him in a silver light.  Some nights, he would look at the moon and pretend that it was him mom looking down on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The day she died, every one was there to comfort him but his own father. At the funeral, Howard barely even acknowledged him.  It plagued his 7-year old mind trying to figure out why his own father didn’t care for him anymore. ‘Why weren’t things like how they used to be?’, Tony constantly thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten years later, things were still the same between Tony and Howard. The latter was still a drinker with a knack for verbally abusing his son after a glass of bourbon and the former was trying his best to navigate life with heavy self-esteem and confidence issues given to him thanks to his father’s actions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony had managed to graduate highschool and graduate from MIT by the time he turned 16, an accomplishment that made major news headlines. The world waited with stilled breaths to see what Tony Stark would do with himself in life. Everyone wanted to see what projects would lend his advanced capabilities . </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Howard found himself absent from both highschool and college graduations as he found work to be more important than watching his baby boy do the impossible. The sad part, Tony didn’t expect him to show up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Howard knew, he watched Tony grow up. He watched Tony solve intricate math problems, and invent different gadgets. He saw everything, but never said anything. He didn’t know how. When he received word that Tony was graduating from highschool, he cried for two straight hours in his office. He was proud of his son, he truly was but didn’t know how to express it. After so many years of abusive behavior, he thought sure that it would be best for him to just keep up the same charade instead of trying to get himself help and build a new relationship with Tony. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>These days, Howard would get drunk and cry about how much of a fuck up he was, he cried out for Maria, for the time that he’s lost with his son. He wasn’t understanding how he allowed himself to end up the way that he has without an attempt at fixing himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He virtually knew nothing about Tony beside the fact that he was insanely smart. He didn’t know his favorite foods, colors, hobbies. Nothing. He didn’t know if his son was even in a relationship or had any friends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony knew better than to tell Howard about Steve. Steve was an alpha that Tony had been dating for the better part of a year. He had met Steve in a coffee shop in the Upper West Side one morning after Steve had clumsily bumped into Tony. The two had hit it off and after a few dates, the two have decided to make it official. Now, Steve is a freshman at Columbia majoring in architecture and art history. Steve was a painter who also had a knack for sketching and found architecture to be something that he could really employ his love of sketching and art. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Early on into their relationship, Steve had introduced Tony to his roommate and best friend Bucky and his mom Sarah. After a few months, Steve had grown curious as to why Tony hadn’t introduced him to his own family. Steve had gotten tired of the excuse of “my dad’s busy” that Tony would give him consistently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>So finally Tony sat Steve down and explained to him that things were complicated and that he and his father didn’t have the best relationship so it would be pointless for Steve to meet him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a while to calm Steve down, who had been set out to go and shake some sense into Howard, luckily Tony managed to calm him down. Even though he didn;t like the situation at hand, Tony had explained to him that once he turned 18 he would be out of his father’s jurisdiction and things would be better. Steve had reluctantly acquiesced but made a point to tell Tony just how much he was loved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> ___________________________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shortly after coming home from college, Howard had barged into Tony’s room one night and told him “starting Monday morning, you’ll be coming to work with me” the older alpha said before turning and walking out. Once the door had shut, Tony had smiled widely as he thought his dad was maybe making an effort to fix things between the two. But he soon realized that that dream was foolish as his father treated him even worse when they were at work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Howard had come to realize that Tony had a knack for sketching, something that he and Steve bonded over when they were in the beginning stages of their relationship. Tony was given the responsibility of sketching our potential designs for new products. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Howard alway gave Tony ridiculously hard deadlines under the impression of ‘you’re the supposed genius, you can figure it out’.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tony, I want those blueprints on my desk by 8am sharp, no exceptions” Howard said as he sat down in his chair and spoke to his son who was sitting on the other side of the room sketching something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lost in his own world oblivious to everything his father was saying, Tony continued his sketch while humming along to the song that was playing softly through the small radio beside him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you hear me?” Howard said louder with a bit more malice in his voice, as he threw a pencil at Tony, hitting him in the head. “I said I want those blueprints on my desk by 8am no exceptions”' Howard said once more, angry that he had to repeat himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Snapping his neck up quickly at the pencil hitting him, he stared at his father surprisingly before it soon switched over  to anger at being told to do the impossible. “Dad, it’ll take me all night to finish them, I need at least a week to get them done,” Tony said as he closed his sketchbook. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well then I suggest you get to it then” Howard said with a look  before sitting back in his chair and taking a sip from his glass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Da-” Tony was cut off as his dad somehow managed to move from his own chair to standing in front of Tony at breaknet speed and was slapping him back against the couch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you talk back to me. I told you to do something now do it” Howard yelled at his son, who now had tears streaming down his face. His dad had never hit him before, never. No matter how drunk he had been, he had never hit Tony.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be grateful that I’m even letting you work. Lord knows you’re not good for anything else.” The alpha said as he continued digging the hole deeper for himself in his state drunkenness.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, Tony got up from his seat with a nod, tucked his book under his arm and made his way to his room, leaving his father to stare at his retreating form with an indescribable look in the alpha’s eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>_____________________________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>****</span>
  <b>Beginning *******</b>
</p><p>
  <span>For a while now, Tony had been thinking over his life. Ever since his mom passed away, his dad had been treating him like crap, and all for what? What was the actual reason?  He’d been suffering in silence and putting up with the pitying looks from the serving staff at home for too long. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking into his bedroom, Tony decided that he had finally had enough, he couldn’t take it anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling out his phone, he pulled up his text thread with Steve and sent a simple “I love you, always remember that” and hit send. Once that was done, he turned his phone off and threw it over on the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Walking back to the door, he turned the lock and began to undress. He began to take off everything except his underwear before walking over to his nightstand and opening the bottom drawer.  After a few seconds of searching, he pulled out a shiny razor blade that he had found in Steve’s loft a few months back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gripping it tightly in his palm, Tony walked into the connecting bathroom and turned the dials on the bathtub and watched as it slowly began to fill up with steaming water. By now, the tears were falling freely as he thought about what his life had come to, and all that he had been through up until this point. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Satisfied with the height of the water, he shakily turned the dials until the water came to a halting stop and slowly got into the water and lowered himself until his bottom met porcelain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few seconds of staggered breathing and letting himself settle in the heated water, he slowly raised his left arm up until he could make it out against the tears clouding his vision. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking one deep breath, he brought the blade up in the other hand and in one swift motion, he made two swift cuts on his wrist. “Ahhh” he cried out as he quickly slammed his arm down into the water and watched  as the water began to darken. The pinkish hue of the once clear water soon turning red. Slowly his eyelids began to feel heavy and it became harder to keep them open. Before long, they closed for good as his head slowly connected with the green tile behind his head as his mind drifted off into unconsciousness</span>
</p><p>
  <span>_____________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit” Howard said from where his head was between his hands. “Mariah I’ve fucked up again” the man whispered to himself as he realized that he had made a major mistake in hitting his son, a mistake he didn’t know if he could come back from. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘Thats it’ Howard thought as he stood up a bit shakily as he had realized that this was rock bottom and he needed to get himself some help. Calling out to one of the staff, he ordered them to dump all of the alcohol in the house down the drain, every last drop of it.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘How the hell am I going to do this’ Howard thought as he began walking up the stairs and down the hallway that led to Tony’s room. He was going to apologize, once and for all. Apologize for the years of mistreatment and hope that his son would even entertain the thought of forgiving him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stopping in front of Tony’s door, he tried to open it, but found it locked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tony can you open the door please” Howard called through the door, “Son, I know ok, I get it. I know you probably hate me and I understand. But please, if you could open the door and let me in , maybe we can talk about it?” Howard said and waited with baited breath. Still, there was no response, using his advanced hearing, he heard nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now he was worried. “Tony?” Howard said, “Tony I’m coming in” Howard said and before he knew it, he was using his shoulder to ram the door open and barge into the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking around, he found no trace of Tony, ‘What the hell’, he said to himself and took a few steps into the room, before his foot was connecting with something. Looking down, he saw it was Tony’s phone. Tony was never without his phone, even Howard knew that. Now he was starting to worry.’Did Tony run away? Leave the house?’ Howard thought as he began looking around. His thoughts stopped when his eyes connected with the light from the bathroom and he began walking towards the door that was cracked open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tony?” Howard said as he knocked. No response. “Tony, it's dad,” Howard said again as he began pushing the door open. Pushing it open completely widely and almost instantly, he took in the sight of his son and his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“TONY” the man yelled as he ran over to the tub and tried pulling his son out. Turning back towards the door, he yelled for one of the staff to call for help, to call 911. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no, no” Howard muttered over and over as he got Tony out of the tub and began cradling him in his lap. “Don’t do this to me. Come on son, stay in there.” Howard began to cry as he thought of how he was most likely the reason. He drove his son to suicide. He drove his precious son to take his own life. All because Howard couldn’t get his fucking act together and get himself some help.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr.Stark, the EMTs are on the way”, Silvia, one of the cleaning staff said shakingly as she took in the sight of Howard Stark crying over Tony, a boy they had all grown to love like their own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding shakingly, Howard looked over and grabbed one of the towels that had been hanging up and as best as he could, wrapped it as tight as possible around Tony’s wrist to try and stop the bleeding. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on son, you can’t die on me. I refuse to let you do this. I’m going to get better I promise. I swear” Howard chanted over and over as he stood up while cradling Tony and began to walk out of the bathroom and subsequently out of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time he was down the steps, the EMT’s were rushing into the house and taking control of Tony’s body, carefully maneuvering it onto a gurney and  working on him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark, we’re going to make sure your son is fine ok?” one of the EMT’s said as she began recording his vitals. “We need you to try and stay calm and follow us to the hospital”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shaking his head, Howard followed on unsturdy legs into the back of the ambulance and prayed silently as they made the trip to the hospital.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*****</span>
  <b>END*****</b>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>_________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Five whole hours later, a doctor was walking into the waiting room and calling for Howard. “Mr. Stark” the man said and watched as Howard jumped straight up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked worse for wear, he had dark bags under his red eyes, his hair was a mess and his breath smelled of straight coffee.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How is he? Will he be alright?” Howard asked in quick succession to the doctor as he hoped and prayed that his son would be alright. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tony, lost a lot of blood but thankfully, you found him when you did. We were able to get him stable but unfortunately he slipped into a coma. All of his vitals are where we need them to be, so now we just need to wait for Tony to wake up, which could be anytime at this point.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Letting out a relieved sigh, Howard chanted his ‘thank you’s’ over and over as he shook the doctor’s hand and allowed the man to lead him the way to Tony’s room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking in, he stopped just short of the threshold as he took in the sight of his son, laying on the bed. Brown curls laid out around him like a halo, his baby boy, the one who he had neglected for over a decade all because he couldn't get a hold of his own grievances. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking over to the chair that sat beside the bed, Howard cautiously took Tony’s hand in his and gripped it tight as once again the tears began to flow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, they say when a person’s in a come, they can hear everything around them.” Howard said with a shaky laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Tony this isn’t easy for me, but it's something that I have to do. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I know I haven't always been the most showing of that and I know that in the future, I won’t be the most deserving of your love. Hell, I wouldn’t blame you if you never spoke to me again. But it would kill me if I know that I didn’t try to earn your forgiveness back. You know, I cried for three hours when your mother told me she was pregnant, I was so excited. When you were born, and I held you in my arms and our eyes met for the first time, I knew that I would lay my life on the line just to make sure you were ok. But somewhere along the way, things went haywire. When your mother died, I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly I was a widower and didn’t know how to handle the suddenness of it all. I made your mother a promise when we first learned she was sick, I told her that I would always, no matter what, love and protect you. I told her that I would always make sure to put you first in my life no matter what and make sure you knew how much she and I loved you. But I failed, I failed her and more importantly I failed you. And I can only hope that one day, you will forgive me” Howard said as he leant over and gave his son a kiss on the forehead before going back to his seat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sat in silence for about 15 minutes, nothing but the heart monitors making a sound in the room. Suddenly, Howard’s head was snapping up at the sudden intrusion of a foreign alpha. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god Tony” Steve cried as he took in the sight of his omega. “I came as fast as I could, the front desk almost didn’t let me back”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And who the hell are you?” Howard said as he stood up and placed himself in between his son and the unknown man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m Steve, Tony’s boyfriend. Who are you?” Steve said as he began looking Howard up and down. “Has his father been informed? I mean I doubt he would care to show up but still” Steve said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Flinching back some at the quip, Howard spoke up “I am his father” the man said and watched as Steve’s eyes widened a fraction as he realized that the man that he had just insulted was Thee Howard Stark, one of the richest and most powerful men in America. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tony never told me about you?” Howard said as he took a step back and dropped back into the chair. Steve took that as an invitation to rush to the other side of the bed and inspect his boyfriend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rubbing a hand over Tony’s forehead, Steve said “Well would it have mattered? From what he’s told me, you only care about three things in this world, and he isn’t one of them.” Steve sneered softly as he tried not to jostle Tony. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God what the hell happened” Steve asked</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“....He slit his wrists” Howard said quietly but still loud enough for Steve to hear, said alpha, gasping at the revelation as he began to cry silently. Howard was still taken aback by the fact that his actions caused so much pain for Tony that he didn’t even consider himself to be cared for by his father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well all of that would be changing as of today.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did they say anything about when he could wake up” Steve asked as he sat down on the other side of the bed with his hands on his head as he tried to keep his emotions in check. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any moment now” Howard responded and Steve shook his head as the two fell back into an uncomfortable silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did you two meet?” Howard asked about 10 minutes later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steve stared at Howard for a few minutes, clearly shocked that the man was showing some sort of interest in him and Tony’s relationship. “Uhmm I ran into him actually” Steve said with a sad laugh. “He was coming out of a coffee shop and I ran into and he dropped a bunch of folders that he had been carrying. After that we started hanging out and we finally made it official” Steve said fondly as his eyes raked over Tony’s form. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm” Howard said as he knew there wasn’t much room for him to play the overprotective dad card. “What do you do? Are you in school?” Howard asked the younger alpha. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m a freshman at Columbia, I paint and sculpt during my free time though” Steve said</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Howard pursed his lips and nodded his lips, showing he was impressed with what Steve had just told him. “Freshman?” Howard responded. “You look older than 18”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep, I’m 18” Steve said as he really didn’t know what else to say. He was six foot-three and 185 pounds. It was very easy for him to pass for being a lot older than what he was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well , if it means anything, I like you. I can tell you’re a good kid. I just hope you treat him right because lord knows I haven’t.” Howard said as his head found its way between his knees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steve stared in awe as he watched Howard’s shoulders begin to shake as the man began crying silently for the umpteenth time that day. Not really sure what to do, he spoke up against his better wishes and said, “You know, Tony’s told me alot about you and how you’ve treated him over the years and I admit, I wanted to bash your head in when I first found out” Howard laughed shakily, “But my ma once told me that everything happens for a reason, no matter what that reason may be. And something is telling me that there is a reason why you treated Tony the way that you did. And if so, I can only hope that now you realize that it wasn’t right nor fair to him. I believe, deep down that you love Tony and want to be involved in his life.” Steve said as he looked directly at Howard who was looking at him with some unspoken emotion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ And you know what's crazy to me, I believe that Tony would welcome you back with open arms. Even though you’ve treated him like scum, he would forgive you. That's just the way he works, he has a big heart with plenty of love to give. If there's anything that I have learned about Tony over the past year, it's that” Steve finished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I promise, I will. I’m going to do my hardest to try and earn his forgiveness, if it's the last thing I do” Howard said in all seriousness as his watery eyes left Steve’s and moved back to his son. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t tell me that, show me” Steve said, and in that moment, Howard could tell that Steve was an alpha who he knew would treat his son right and give him the proper love and respect that he deserved. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding his head, Howard stood and motioned for Steve to stand as well. “We might as well go home and shower, there’s no need for us to stay at this point. We are no good to anyone in this shape, go home shower and come back tomorrow” Howard said as he began walking with his hand on Steve’s shoulder as the two left the room with one last glance at Tony. </span>
</p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>How do you think the second chapter is going to pan out? Who do you want to make an appearance? Do you think Tony should forgive Howard?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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